Sumo at the 2022 World Games
The sumo competition at the 2022 World Games was held under the auspices of the International Sumo Federation on July 9 and July 10 at Boutwell Auditorium.
Sumo was introduced as a demonstration sport at the 2001 World Games in Akita, Japan, and the Birmingham edition marked the fifth time sumo was included as a regular event at the World Games. 48 men and 48 women qualified for the event, with 16 participants in each the lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight competitions. The competition featured Alabama-native and Guntersville resident Andrew Roden in the men's middleweight competition.
In the gold medal match for the men's lightweight division, Egyptian wrestler Abdelrahman Elsefy defeated Demid Karachenko of Ukraine, but was disqualified for celebrating his victory with a backflip. After an extended dispute with the Egyptian coach, Abdelrahman Shalan, the judges agreed to allow a rematch. Elsefy won again and was awarded the gold medal.
Medalists
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlete | Country | Athlete | Country | Athlete | Country | |
| Lightweight | Abdelrahman Elsefy | Egypt | Demid Karachenko | Ukraine | Sviatoslav Semykras | Ukraine |
| Middleweight | Vazha Daiauri | Ukraine | Shion Fujisawa | Japan | Aron Rozum | Poland |
| Heavyweight | Hidetora Hanada | Japan | Daiki Nakamura | Japan | Rui Junior | Brazil |
| Openweight | Daiki Nakamura | Japan | Badral Baasandorj | Mongolia | Oleksandr Veresiuk | Ukraine |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlete | Country | Athlete | Country | Athlete | Country | |
| Lightweight | Yuka Okutomi | Japan | Miku Yamanaka | Japan | Magdalena Macios | Poland |
| Middleweight | Sakura Ishii | Japan | Karyna Kolesnik | Ukraine | Monika Skiba | Poland |
| Heavyweight | Svitlana Yaromka | Ukraine | Ivanna Berezovska | Ukraine | Airi Hisano | Japan |
| Openweight | Ivanna Berezovska | Ukraine | Hiyori Kon | Japan | Svitlana Yaromka | Ukraine |
External links
- Sumo at the 2022 World Games official website
- Sumo at The World Games official website
References
- Crenshaw, Solomon (July 6, 2022) "Alabama’s Andrew Roden takes it to the mat in The World Games 2022 sumo competition" Alabama News Center
- International Sumo Federation "List of the qualified athletes of the World Games 2022"
- Goodman, Joseph (July 10, 2022) "Cops, chaos and an angry coach cause stir at sumo championship" The Birmingham News